A Story of One Idea, Thirty Kids, and a World of Butterflies
June 29, 2020
Following an earlier, similarly structured collaboration by this team (Follow the Moon Home) about a child gaining self-assurance while working on an environmental project, Hopkinson and So introduce a brown-skinned girl whose confidence grows as she organizes her class to start a milkweed garden for migrating monarchs. “That’s me in the back,” the girl says, holding up her class picture; “I was a little like a caterpillar then:/ quiet and almost invisible.” A librarian gives her illustrated books about monarchs whose imagined pages interleave with the girl’s own story, and the butterflies’ migration path mirrors her own (“I wondered if monarch butterflies belonged here. Sometimes I wondered if we did, too”). A research poster she makes about monarchs inspires her classmates, and—with input from experts, a budget, and presentations to the school and beyond—a school monarch way station takes shape. So’s delicate mixed-media drawings capture the girl’s classmates and portrays the protagonist as she journeys from lonely newcomer to poised leader. An author’s note and bibliography tell readers how to make their own gardens. Ages 5–8. Author’s agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. Illustrator’s agent: Sally Heflin, Heflinreps.
January 1, 2021
A young monarch butterfly enthusiast recounts her first year in a new school in a new country, where she "didn't like to stand out or be noticed" as she was learning English and becoming familiar with a new community. Through the seasons, as the girl gains confidence in her language skills, and with encouragement from the school librarian, she deepens her knowledge about butterfly science. The girl alternates between sharing her own story and presenting factual details about butterfly migration, life cycles, feeding habits, and alarming declines in the monarch population. The creative illustrations parallel the shifts in tone, with scientific information presented as if on the pages of a textbook, in contrast to glowing illustrations of an idyllic neighborhood filled with people, colorful buildings, and a community garden. The girl comes into her own in a triumphant class presentation on the monarch butterfly, where her plan to build a monarch way station is eagerly adopted by her schoolmates and community. "Once, I tried to hide. But a caterpillar never stays the same for long...It emerges as something new, unexpected, surprising. Just like me." Readers inspired by the girl's activism can find additional resources on monarchs and environmental activism in the book's closing pages.
(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
January 1, 2021
A young monarch butterfly enthusiast recounts her first year in a new school in a new country, where she "didn't like to stand out or be noticed" as she was learning English and becoming familiar with a new community. Through the seasons, as the girl gains confidence in her language skills, and with encouragement from the school librarian, she deepens her knowledge about butterfly science. The girl alternates between sharing her own story and presenting factual details about butterfly migration, life cycles, feeding habits, and alarming declines in the monarch population. The creative illustrations parallel the shifts in tone, with scientific information presented as if on the pages of a textbook, in contrast to glowing illustrations of an idyllic neighborhood filled with people, colorful buildings, and a community garden. The girl comes into her own in a triumphant class presentation on the monarch butterfly, where her plan to build a monarch way station is eagerly adopted by her schoolmates and community. "Once, I tried to hide. But a caterpillar never stays the same for long...It emerges as something new, unexpected, surprising. Just like me." Readers inspired by the girl's activism can find additional resources on monarchs and environmental activism in the book's closing pages. Danielle J. Ford
(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)